


3 Birthdays, 2 Confessions, 1 Kiss

by YourLocalPriestess



Series: Chasing Fire [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Birthday, CWs will be noted at top of chapters, F/F, Horde Times, Kinda, Kissing, Pining, Pranking, Pre-Canon, Sharing a Bed, Slow Dancing, Underage Drinking, also get ready for painnnnn, but I love them and will die for them, idk man this aint a happy ship, mentions of abuse verbal emotional and physical, mentions of child abuse, they are just GAY BABIES trying their BEST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-10-01 13:36:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17245184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLocalPriestess/pseuds/YourLocalPriestess
Summary: Adora told Bow that they didn't have Birthday Parties in the Horde, and that was true. What she didn't tell him was that she celebrated her birthday in her own way, with one specific person.





	1. 15

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Each chapter mentions verbal, emotional, and some physical abuse. All of it NONGRAPHIC. Each chapter has these teens drinking.
> 
> Listen, ever since I heard Adora say they didn't have parties, this idea wouldn't leave my brain, so, now you get it.

“Hey, Adora.”

The familiar purr of her name made Adora turn her head away from the boots she was polishing and toward the door. Catra was leaning languidly against the frame, hands behind her back and the usual smirk on her face.

“Hey, Catra. Whatcha got there?”

“Me? Oh, nothing.” She revealed one of her hands, empty, and inspected the nails.

Adora pressed her lips together in a failed attempt to suppress her own smirk. “Uh huh.” She rose and got close to Catra, trying to peer over her shoulder. “Liar.”

“I mean, I would tell you, but it might get you in trouble, and you wouldn’t want to risk it, being cadet of the month _again_.”

Adora rolled her eyes at the bait, but the familiar pang of guilt still came at yet another jab to Shadow Weaver’s obvious favoritism. She knew Catra was mostly joking, trying to get under her skin, but the bitter edge of truth always stung a bit too much, and she suspected that as much was true for Catra as well. “Whatever. You know I don’t care about that. Just hand it over.”

Catra raised her eyebrows, her ears following suit, and grinned. “Is the perfect cadet feeling rebellious today?”

She groaned and made to grab at Catra’s still-concealed arm, but Catra was too quick, _she always was_ , and spun around into the room to dodge her.

But not before Adora caught a glimpse of a green bottle with dark liquid inside.

Adora relaxed and cocked her hip. “A bottle? That’s what this is about?”

Catra groaned and let the ruse drop, along with her hand that held the bottle, now plainly out in the open. She glared at Adora, her ears drooping and tail flicking in her agitation. “Why must you suck the fun out of everything?”

“Oh, shove it.” Adora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “So? What’s this about?”

Catra, to her credit, seemed to shake out of her annoyance, and went right back to her smirk, the mischievous twinkle back in her eyes. “It’s alcohol.”

“Alcohol?” The word was foreign on Adora’s tongue. “What’s that?”

Catra straightened and dropped her cocky expression. “What? You don’t know?”

Adora only shook her head, arching an eyebrow at her friend.

She sighed. “It’s like…it’s made from fruit. It makes you feel, I don’t know how to describe it, loose? Light? It’s like, what the commanders drink to celebrate and what cadets sneak to make bad decisions,” she ended with a chuckle.

Adora approached her and lifted the bottle so she could inspect the label; Catra kept her grip on the neck while she did. _Summer Touch_. She wrinkled her nose at the name. It sounded like the bad books recovered from the Horde’s conquests, the ones Jordan read and always gushed about.

She let go of the bottle and arched her eyebrow at Catra again. “You said cadets sneak this?”

“Yep.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Mmm, the less you know the better, Adora.” She brushed past her as she walked over to her bunk, her tail stroking Adora’s bicep while she went. “You could be implicated later.”

“Forgive me for worrying about your shenanigans.”

Catra’s ear twitched, the only tell to her discomfort while her back was turned, but otherwise ignored Adora’s statement in favor of fiddling with the cork. She turned back around and faced Adora, her face screwed up in concentration and tongue pressed between her teeth as she dug her claw into it, then grinned when it came loose, releasing a satisfying _pop_ as it did.

Catra glanced from the bottle to Adora, lifted the bottle in a pseudo salute, and took a sip. Adora waited for her reaction, but all that came was a frown for a moment, and then a grin in her direction. “It’s delicious,” Catra bragged, twirling the bottle in her hand.

“Let me try.” Catra allowed Adora to take it, and settled on a smirk as she tipped the bottle back. The drink was sweet like cherries, and fizzy, and a moment after it hit the back of her throat, left a sharp bite and a warmth running down her chest. Her eyes widened and she couldn’t help but look from the bottle and back to Catra. “Damn.”

“Hell yeah.” Catra grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door, glancing out into the hall for any witnesses. “Let’s go somewhere more private where we can drink in peace.”

Catra found them a storage closet that usually went undisturbed and they settled into a small cove between units in the back. There, they sat on the floor facing each other, legs untangled as they laughed and passed the bottle back and forth. Adora couldn’t remember the last time she felt so free to laugh.

Catra took another sip, their bottle coming dangerously close to its end now. They had both gone a bit quiet, their chatter naturally dying off to settle into a warm comfort that their company created for each other.

“Happy birthday.” Catra’s words cut through the warmth, a hardness to them almost. It made Adora blink and focus in on her friend. “How did your assessment go?”

Adora shrugged. “Well enough. Still improving at the expected rate, still making the Hoarde proud, blah blah blah. Nothing special.”

“Everything’s special about you, Adora.”

Heat crept up the blonde’s cheeks. She nudged her friend with her foot and smiled. “You getting soft on me?” The words came out more tender than she intended, but she let them stand all the same.

“Nah. Just stating facts.” Catra took another swig, smirked, and passed it her way. “Go on and finish it. To another year of, ‘improving at an expected rate,’” she said with air quotes, and a giggle at the end.

“Yeah.” Adora rolled her eyes and took a heavy drink; she was growing to enjoy the bite and warmth that it brought. “When’s your birthday Catra?”

The cat stilled, her tail, which had previously been resting on Adora’s leg, curled in and around her own waist. She looked up at the ceiling, lips pursed and some unidentifiable emotion flitting across her face. “I have no idea. Near as I can tell, my exam day is always different.” She chuckled, but it was a hollow, lifeless sound. She looked back down and gave Adora a smile that matched. “I think she’s forgotten, honestly. And it’s not like it matters anyway. Exam day is exam day no matter if it’s consistent or not.”

Adora frowned, despite the other’s flippant attitude. “It does matter. It’s supposed to mark us getting older and stronger.”

Catra shrugged. “I do that regardless. Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”

Adora leaned forward, still frowning. “No.” She held out the bottle to her. “No. Today’s your birthday too, now. Drink this.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile was a touch more genuine. “You can’t just _decide_ that, Adora.”

“Watch me.”

They held a look for a long time, each of their stubborn wills prickling in the air, until finally Catra snatched the bottle back with another eye roll. “You’re insufferable.”

“So are you.”

Catra finished the bottle, and then rose, holding out a hand for Adora and pulling her up along with her. “Well, as birthday girls who just finished their first bottle of alcohol, I vote we pull an all-nighter.” Catra wobbled on her feet as she released Adora’s hand, only for Adora to catch her around the waist and pull her close for support.

“Ohhhhh, no,” Adora laughed, the words feeling extra thick on her tongue, difficult to say. Her head hadn’t felt so _heavy_ when they were sitting. “We need to go to bed.”

“Mmm, fine.” Catra, to Adora’s surprise, nuzzled into her neck with a purr. “But I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

Adora blushed, or maybe it was the lingering warmth from the alcohol, but all the same. “Fine,” she muttered, beginning to guide them out of the closet. “But if you snore, I’m kicking you out.”

“Fine,” Catra repeatedly back, her tone mocking, with the edge of a laugh in it.

Once they made it back to the barracks, unseen, _thank god_ , Adora helped Catra get settled in, as her companion seemed to be slightly more affected by the drink than she was. When Catra was settled at the foot of her bed, curled into a ball as usual, Adora moved over her to settle into it as well.

Catra surprised her, again, by sliding under the covers and laying horizontal. Facing her. Nuzzling into her chest and purring slightly. At first, Adora didn’t know what to do with her hands. Catra was never this…affectionate, anymore. Not this way. Not since they were kids. But her friend’s purrs grew louder, and she felt the tension leave her body as it was pressed tighter to Catra, and finally, Adora settled her hand at Catra’s back, burying her face in her friend’s hard as sleep claimed her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hellooooo <3
> 
> Welcome to the gay and suffering show! Starring all of us, looking at Catradora and screaming lmao.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!! You are so kind and generous and great and I am so grateful for you <3
> 
> Any comments/kudos/what-have-yous are appreciated ^_^


	2. 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW For mentions of physical child abuse in this chapter. Non-graphic.

Adora flopped onto her cot, blowing a few stray hairs that had come loose from her ponytail out of her face. The assessment felt especially brutal this year. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to sleep. She rolled over to do just that, only to see two legs filling her vision. Following them up led to Catra’s face, smirking. _Of course_. Adora groaned and rolled the other way.

“Go away.”

“ _Adoraaaa_ ,” the girl purred, digging her claws into Adora’s ribs lightly, making the blonde squirm. “Get up. We have things to do.”

“The only thing I have to do now is sleep,” she grumbled back, pulling the cover over her head.

“Don’t be such a princess.”

Adora frowned, flinging the blanket off, and rolling back over to glare at her. “Shut up.”

“Prove me wrong.” Catra arched an eyebrow, her tail swishing playfully behind her.

“Fuck you.” Adora forced herself out of bed, a pout on her lips, until she was standing arms crossed in front of her best friend. “What _things_ are so important that I can’t nap?”

Catra grinned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along out of the barracks. “You’ll see.”

She led them out and into a storage closet. It was stacked high with crates and well out of the way. In fact, it looked just like the one they were in a year ago, when–

They rounded a corner around a crate and Adora froze, her jaw dropping. Set up before them was a crude table and chairs made from appropriately sized crates. Two ration bars were set up on two clean sweat rags, allowing for an air of fanciness that tugged a smile from Adora’s shocked state. But most surprising was another crate to the side that had a strange, square box with black circles on each side, and beside the box, a bottle of wine.

Adora laughed and clapped her hand over her mouth, and turned to Catra. “What’s all this?”

Catra’s face lit up with a triumphant grin, and something warmer bubbling beneath the surface, something Adora couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Happy Birthday, Adora.”

“You absolute asshole.” Adora threw her arms around her friend abruptly, all soreness from before forgotten.

Catra laughed and wrapped her arms around her. “I’ll remember this response next time I consider doing something nice for you.”

“Shut up.” Adora squeezed once and pulled back to grin at her, still keeping her hands rested around Catra’s neck, then turned to the set up again. “I feel bad. I didn’t do anything for you.” She looked at her friend with a small smile. She actually _had_ forgotten what they’d agreed to last year. This day was Catra’s as much as hers.

Catra shrugged, and in the process slipped out of Adora’s arms. “You always owe me one. I’ll just add this to the list.” She walked over to the table and pulled a crate away from it, gesturing for Adora to sit, and then walked over to the other makeshift table and grabbed the bottle of wine. “Now sit down and relax for once in your life.”

So Adora did. They sat and ate their rations and traded chatter about their weeks as they passed the bottle back and forth. It was the same flavor as before, Adora noticed. _Summer Touch_. Even though the details of last year’s surprising experience were admittedly hazy, she could say without a doubt that this time was somehow different. There was a comfort to what they were doing. Sure, they were sneaking around, growing more and more giggly and boisterous by the sip, but the _ease_ of it. Between personalized testings, training younger cadets, completing assigned maintenance lists, Catra always made it - not even just bearable - but _fun_. Right when Adora thought she was done, and out, and too exhausted in every capacity to care about anything other than sleeping and taking a moment to do nothing, Catra was there. Right when she reached an edge, Catra would pull her back from it.

Just like today.

“Thank you for this, really,” Adora said, in a brief pause between the conversation. “It’s wonderful.”

Catra smirked and snagged the bottle back, taking a long pull, and pushed the last of it her way. “This isn’t even everything. Finish that, then come over here.” She indicated the other makeshift table with the strange box with a nod as she stood and approached it.

Adora listened and finished off the drink, savoring the sickly sweet taste that preceded the warm bite, then followed Catra. She was fiddling with the box, her tail swishing rapidly and her ears flat to her head as she pressed buttons and adjusted dials.

“A-ha!” the cat cried, standing with her hands on her hips and grinning at the box. “I got it.”

Adora frowned and opened her mouth to ask what exactly she “got,” when she _heard_ it. A soft, melodic sound that began to gain volume as the seconds passed, until finally the room was filled with it. A song. A real life song was playing from the strange box, and Catra looked like a kid on Extra Ration Day.

“What _is_ this?” Adora asked, crouching down to look at the box more closely.

“A song, idiot.”

Adora threw a glare over her shoulder and then turned back to the box. When she put her fingers near the black circles on it, she could feel vibrations. From the song? It was _weird_. “No. How are you making it happen?”

Catra shrugged. “I have no idea how the thing works. It some kind of old tech, but it wasn’t any use to the Horde so it was headed for the dump. But I pulled it out and strong armed Brock into helping me figure out how to make it work.”

Adora straightened with a shake of her head and laugh. “You are such an ass. Poor kid never stood a chance.”

“Oh, he was happy to help. Practically begged me for the opportunity.”

“Mhm, I bet.”

“Yeah, but enough about Brock. This isn’t the whole gift.”

“Oh?” Adora arched a brow at the cat.

“Here.” Catra grabbed both of her hands, unfolding Adora’s arms as she did. After getting hold, Catra pulled her closer, placing one of Adora’s hands on her waist and holding the other one up in her own at level with their shoulders.

“What are you–?”

“Shhh.” Catra placed a finger on her lips and smiled when Adora blushed, then placed her hand back on Adora’s waist. “Just follow my lead.”

Their movements were clumsy at first; Adora struggling to follow after the ways Catra was pulling her matched with the alcohol in both their systems made for an inelegant scene, but like with all the things they did, they eventually found their rhythm. _Dancing_. That’s what Catra called it, in between shuffles and smashed toes and involuntary giggles. Catra told her people did this when there was a song playing.

“Why?” Adora asked.

Catra shrugged, not halting her movements as they went. “I don’t know. It’s kind of nice though.” The song switched to something slower, so Catra slowed them as well, pulling Adora closer as she did and nuzzling against her cheek and neck.

The heat that raced through Adora as the cat’s hand curled around her lower back made her swallow. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.” She felt…weird. Hot. It was just like the last year had been, muddled and confusing, with a thousand emotions racing through her head at once. But she wanted… she wanted Catra even closer. She wasn’t even sure what that meant, but followed the impulse and squeezed the cat’s waist as she went to pull her–

Catra cried out, pulling away from her and clutching her side as she buckled over. She was breathing heavy, her face twisted and eyes screwed shut.

“What the fuck? Catra, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“No,” she hissed through her teeth. “But I’ll be fine.”

“Can I help?” Adora held her arms awkwardly in the air toward her, unsure what to do with them.

“No. Just– just give me a second.”

But a second turned to minutes that were filled with Catra’s heavy breathing and occasional winces when she tried to move. It wasn’t letting up and she wasn’t getting better.

It had never been this bad before.

Feeling eminently more sober, Adora leaned down and pulled Catra’s arm over her shoulder.

“Get off me, I’m fine. I just need a minute.” There was a heat to the cat’s words, but she didn’t move to fight off Adora’s grip.

“Uh huh, and I’m Hordak’s second in command. Come on. We’re going to bed.”

They made their way in silence as Adora guided them back to the barracks. Catra, for her part, wasn’t fighting it. She was even leaning into the support, which only served to worry Adora more.

“Shadow Weaver?” They were halfway back now.

“Yeah.”

She waited for more, but Catra offered nothing. Even so, the confirmation alone sent her blood boiling and pulled her lips into a firm, thin line. “What happened?”

“Hard to say.” Catra’s voice still held the familiar ire and bravado, despite their current conditions. “Talking back. Breaking rules. You know her. Could’ve been any number of things.”

They slipped into the barracks unnoticed. Adora guided Catra to her bunk, setting her down delicately so as not to further aggravate whatever injury she had.

“You okay?”

Catra shot her a grin while Adora placed a blanket on her. “Never better.”

Adora shook her head. “ _Insufferable_ ,” she muttered, followed by Catra’s soft chuckle as Adora slipped into her own bunk.

Relative silence stretched for a minute or so, broken only by the constant industrial clamber of The Fright Zone. Normally it was a comfort; the clunk of movement reminded her that she was never alone, never unprepared. _And yet_. And yet right now, it was too loud. Everything was. The noise, her mind, her heartbeat: All of it. She stared at the bunk above hers and waited for whatever feeling this was too pass.

It didn’t.

“Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I come over?”

“Yeah. Do you need help?”

Adora was half-way turned to look her friend’s way, but Catra was already up and wincing in silence as she slipped into her bunk. And just like last year, Catra stayed horizontal next to her, pressed close and nuzzling against her chest. Adora wrapped her arms around her and pressed her face against the top of her friend’s head.

“I’m sorry,” Adora whispered, the feeling still not evaporating from her. It was all too _loud_. She pulled Catra closer.

Catra didn’t say anything, but she felt the graze of her claws on her back, gripping her tight in return.

The loud feeling still didn’t leave Adora. She could feel it tightening in her chest, in her throat, closing in on her. _How could Shadow Weaver do this? Why can’t I help? What do I do?_ The questions barely landed as conscious thought, one after another, each one spurring on her racing heart, each one digging deeper into her psyche, until they were screaming, until she felt she might just burst with–

“Do you ever think about what might happen if we left?”

Catra’s question stopped Adora instantly, as if it short circuited her brain itself. “What?”

“If we left.” Catra sighed and nuzzled into her neck. Adora could feel the warm of her breath there, and felt heat rise in her cheeks as a result. “If we left the Horde.”

“I–  no. We’d never make it. Even if the princesses didn’t get us, the Horde would kill us for deserting. Plus, this is our home. Where else are we supposed to go?”

Catra was quiet again for a long time. Adora waited for more, waited to see what Catra might be getting at. What she _couldn’t_ be getting at.

“I guess it’s just wishful thinking.” Catra’s claws dug in against Adora’s lower back, and Adora couldn’t tell if Catra even noticed she did it. “But promise me, if for whatever reason we might be able to, we can go together.”

“I don’t think that’s going to–”

“ _Promise me_.”

Adora sighed. “I promise.”    

“Okay.” Catra yawned, and nuzzled into her, somehow, even closer. “Okay.”

Catra didn’t say anything else. Adora laid there, in the noise and the…whatever feeling she couldn’t seem to shake, and tried not to think about what that promise might mean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lolololol "I should have the next chapter up soon."
> 
> ANYWAY, here's round 2. I also have the last chapter half written, and I'm feeling particularly inspired this week, but I'm making zero promises that bite me in my own ass. 
> 
> All the same, thank you so much for reading. You an angel and a saint and I love you. 
> 
> Any comments/kudos/what-have-yous are appreciated <3


	3. 17

Adora huffed as she marched toward the now-familiar storage unit. Only two hours ago, she’d told Catra to meet her there. And only twenty minutes ago, Gurt had informed her that he had _failed_ to get the wine she asked for. _You try to do one nice thing and everything goes to hell_. She shook her head, willing the fantasies of punching Gurt in the face to leave her as she opened the door to the unit and made her way through the crates to the open space.

Catra was already there, as she expected, but what she did not expect, was to see her lounging upon an elevated crate, two wine bottles in hand and grinning ear to ear.

“What the–”

“Did you really think you could pull one over on _me_?” her friend called, tail swishing playfully where it hung against the crate. “As if I didn’t get things arranged for this with Gurt _last year_.” Catra tsk-ed and shook her head as she hopped down and walked over and held out a bottle. “Shame on you.”

Adora snatched the bottle and rolled her eyes, but felt a smile pulling at her lips. “You really went behind my back, got the boy to lie to me, and _did this_?”

“Yep.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“Liar.” Catra laughed and popped the cork out of her bottle as she hopped off her crate. “Come on. We have a birthday to celebrate.”

Adora laughed too and pulled her own cork. “I guess we _do_.”

They drank faster than usual. Without having to split the bottle, there was no reason to slow their pace as they laughed and talked. Catra introduced her to “drinking games,” which also could’ve been a greater contributing factor to the speed at which the bottes emptied, if she was being honest with herself. But within an hour, both their bottles were drained and they were leaned against a crate, both feeling lighter than air.

“Is there a name for this?” Adora asked, slowly, to avoid slurring her words. “This feeling we get after we drink. It’s…nice.”

“Drunk.” Catra sighed. “Tipsy. Buzzed. Take your pick. Wasted, if you drink so much you forget shit.”

“Weird,” Adora muttered. “Wait, it can make you forget stuff? How?”

She felt Catra shrug next to her. “Magic? Science-y stuff? How should I know?”

“Fair enough.” She leaned into her friend a bit more. “I wish we could do it more often. Seems like it’s ending faster each year.”

“I know.” Catra was quiet for a moment, then stood up with surprising grace and faced her with a grin. “I have an idea.”

Adora giggled when Catra extended her hand, but took it anyway and allowed her friend to hoist her up. “Why do I have a feeling you’re about to get us in so much trouble?”

           

Catra, it turned out, was going to do her best to do just that. Through a myriad of not-so-stealthy maneuvers, whispered fights over where to place the bucket, and rushed hiding, they were at last in a position to carry out Catra’s plan.

They waited in the shadows for what felt like hours (only minutes, in reality). At multiple points, Adora would start to giggle, making Catra nearly giggle as well, and then both of them were nudging each other’s shoulders until they shut up again. It went on for at least three rounds of that, but finally, they heard rustling outside in the hall and saw shadows moving through the light under the door.

Adora put her hand over her mouth and ducked even lower, dragging Catra with her. Together, they peaked just over the edge in their shadowed corner and watched as a small, slender figure passed through the door way…and was soaked with a bucket of dirty mop water.

The shriek that Kyle let out made them both cover their mouths and noses to keep any sound from escaping, along with grasping each other’s arms in a vice grip for support. Kyle stood there in the door way, silhouetted by the light of the hall as he held his arms out helplessly and inspected them and the rigged bucket that now hung empty above him. A few seconds more of that and, with a sigh, he wrung out part of his shirt and began walking back out into the hall and away from them.

After a few minutes, what felt like minutes anyway, Adora collapsed against Catra in a fit of laughter that was barely below raucous in the way it carried through the room. Catra laughed too, the sounds rich with vibrato that Adora felt vibrate against her skin.

“We’re such assholes,” Adora finally sighed, a grin still stretched across her face. Her head was still leaned against Catra’s shoulder, which jostled her when the cat shrugged at her comment.

“He’s always dragging the team down anyway. Gotta let off steam somehow.”

“I suppose.” Adora finally pulled away and shook her head, a yawn following the action. Her head felt _heavy_. “Come on, enough trouble for tonight. We should get some rest. I’m sure Shadow Weaver will be running us through the gambit tomorrow, plus you have a rotation with the recruits in the morning.”

Catra groaned and went limp where she sat on the floor. “Why must you crush me with boring shit like “facts” and “logic”?”

“Because I care about you and whether or not you invoke Shadow Weaver’s punishment.” She held out her hand, which Catra took with a roll of her eyes, and hauled her friend upward. When Catra was up though, she ended up only a few inches from her. Adora’s lips parted, ready to add on to her previous statement, but her eyes locked with Catra’s and suddenly the air was on fire and all her thoughts evaporated.

 _What_ is _this?_

Catra broke the moment, seeming not to notice, and stepped back from her with a smirk and a hand on her hip. “Careful there, Adora. I might think you’re getting sentimental on me.”

“Whatever.” Adora punched her shoulder and brushed by. “I’m going to bed, at least. _I_ want to live to our next birthday.”

 

Catra, of course, had followed her. They made their way to their bunks in companionable silence. Adora tried not to show the heat the flushed her cheeks when Catra’s tail curled around her wrist while they walked, or her disappointment when Catra took her tail back and curled into her own bunk.

The same wakeful, irritating buzz from the previous year sat on her skin, threatening to consume her with feelings and wants she didn’t understand. It lingered in the way a dream did, just at the edge of her memory, blurry and almost in reach, but every time she thought longer than a second about what that feeling _meant,_ her heart started pounding and her chest would tighten and, fuck, she couldn’t think about it for another _second_ or she’d–

“Catra?” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

Adora rolled over in her bunk so she was facing Catra’s, just to find Catra already facing her. “Come over here. With me. We can sleep together.”

She laughed. “Trying to make a tradition, Adora?”

“C’mon,” she whined, drawing out the letters and pouting. “I miss the snuggling. Please?”

Catra groaned, but crept over to her. “If you never say the word ‘snuggle’ to me again, then sure.”

“Deal.”

Adora was suppressing a laugh as Catra slid under the cover next to her, clumsier this year, and not without a few wrong moves that pinched them each painfully. They fit still, but only barely, and only once Catra nuzzled herself into Adora’s chest and slung an arm over her waist. It was…warm, in ways that Adora knew to expect, but was always unprepared for. More than body heat. More than a comfort. _That’s…weird_. She wasn’t sure what to do with the strange feeling, she never was, or what to do with her hands. But in the same second she was doubting herself, she felt her arms encircling her friend.

Muscle memory was a funny thing.

It was silent for a long time, or it felt that way. It was hard to tell through the now-dying buzz and the sleepiness. But it was warm, and Catra was warm, and soft, and safe, and the feeling was finally quieting, and it was…better than anything else, if Adora was honest.

“We might get in trouble for this.”

“We’ll be sober by the morning,” Adora mumbled back, feeling grogginess seep into the words.

“No, being in the bed together.”

Adora scoffed. “That never stopped us before.”

“It’s different now.”

She frowned, even though Catra couldn’t see it. “What, why?”

“Shadow Weaver’s been cracking down on fraternization. Strictly against the rules, you know.”

Catra’s voice was soft, not in the way she could do, where it was almost a purr or a growl. It was soft in the way that Adora almost thought she imagined it, except she felt the warmth of Catra’s breath against her chest when she spoke.

Adora swallowed and felt heat rise in her cheeks. She wasn’t sure why. Except she was. And wasn’t. It was all – muddled. “Well, we’re just sleeping.” Her voice was soft too, a ghost of sound, an edge of a question lingering in it.

She felt Catra move away from where she’d settled and look up at her. Adora could barely make out the outline of her features, but she could still see her mismatched eyes, locked on hers.

“What if we weren’t?”

The question hung between them, between the centimeters that separated them, unanswered. Adora tried, opened her mouth to speak, but no sound escaped. All she did was stare at her friend, who had just said–

Then Catra was kissing her. She moved in slowly. Adora could’ve pulled back at any moment. But as soon at Catra’s lips brushed hers, warmer and softer than anything Adora had felt in her life, realization hit her in the way Catra sometimes did when they were sparring; hard and unexpected.

There was nothing she would rather do than kiss Catra.

And so she kissed her back. She tightened her hold and pulled Catra closer. The other girl’s breath hitched in response, and she pressed her claws lightly against Adora’s hip as she kissed her even harder.

Adora had always imagined her first kiss would be a messy, awkward experience. That’s the way most cadets had recounted it. But she and Catra moved together the way they did in a fight – each pushting for dominance just enough to bring balance, each knowing the way other might react and responding in kind, each feeding off the enthusiasm the other gave; exploring and tasting and feeling in ways Adora had never considered possible.

Catra, to Adora’s surprise, was the one to break the kiss, leaning her head against Adora’s and sighing, nuzzling closer. “Now that, _that_ was fraternization.”

“Mmm,” Adora hummed, feeling the mix of alcohol and the kiss elevate her to heady levels of contentment.

She expected Catra to make another smart comment, or kiss her again, but nothing came, and the silence was sweet enough to lull her to sleep in her friend’s arms.

 

When Adora woke, her head pounded. She groaned and rolled onto her back, suddenly realizing Catra wasn’t next to her. She propped herself up on her elbows, resulting in a spot of dizziness, and blinked hard while she glanced over to Catra’s mat. The other girl was already awake and dressed, her back to Adora and bent over her knee as she pulled on one of her half socks.

“Hey,” Adora said, wincing at the volume of her own voice.

“Not so loud,” Catra hissed, barely glancing back over her shoulder. “Have some decency.”

“Sorry.” Adora shook her head and sat up fully. “God, I feel awful.”

“You’re telling me.” Catra spun around and faced her, giving her a smirk despite the morning. “That was a fun night.”

“Yeah.” Adora found herself lingering on Catra’s mouth, memories of heat and the taste of wine on Catra’s tongue washing over her. She swallowed and blushed and forced herself to look at Catra’s eyes, unable to fight a small smile as she did. “About that…”

“If you’re asking if I remember messing with Kyle, the answer is yes, obviously. We really need to do that more often.”

Adora frowned at her. _She didn’t mention–_ “Yeah… Yeah, that was funny.”

Catra threw her head back and laughed. “I just wish I remembered the rest of it. I don’t even remember coming back here. So, thanks for having my back, I guess.” She leaned over and punched Adora’s shoulder playfully.

Adora felt the flush in her face drain away. Catra didn’t remember. Catra didn’t remember, and she did. More than that, Adora _liked_ the memory. She _liked_  snuggling. She _liked_ kissing Catra.

Oh, stars. She _liked_ Catra.

She _like liked_ Catra.

“Of course.” Adora felt the words forming on autopilot. What more was there to do? What if Catra hadn’t actually wanted the kiss her? Wasn’t it Catra who had told her that alcohol was made for bad decisions and mistakes? That it could make you forget things? _Would it just be a mistake to her?_ “A promise is a promise.”

“Thanks.” Catra smiled at her, like, really smiled. Soft, sweet, and lacking the bravado she usually put on; the bravado she only seemed to drop for Adora. “Now get up. If I beat you to training then the world really is falling apart.”

Catra was up and gone before Adora could even process the jab, leaving her alone to collapse back on her mat and try to figure out what the fuck she was supposed to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hemloooooo!!!
> 
> I was bound and determined to finish this before season 2 premiered, and I did it goddammit.
> 
> ANYWAY thanks for reading this! I love these trash lesbians and appreciate you going on this journey with me. You're great and I love you! <3

**Author's Note:**

> This a lil fic 3 chapter fic, and I'm mostly done with it, so hopefully they'll all be out soon! I hope you like to be gay and suffer, bc, well *insert upside down smiley*
> 
> ANYWAY, thank you so much for reading. You're a real treasure and I hope you know it <3
> 
> Any comments/kudos/what-have-yous are appreciated ^_^


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